Money – or the Lack Thereof – Remains Top
Holiday Stress Concern According to FranklinCovey Annual SurveyExperts Advise on How to
Survive and Thrive this
Holiday Season

SALT LAKE CITY, November 19, 2009 —The fifth annual “Holiday Stress Survey”
conducted by FranklinCovey Products, the official
consumer products licensee of the FranklinCovey Co. brand, reveals
surprising insights on the factors that increase stress during the holidays and
offers some suggestions for how to cope. The survey polled more than 1,000 adult
consumers throughout the
United
States
and found that despite the current
economic climate, 61 percent of respondents believe they spend too much money
during the holidays.

SURVEY FINDING: Last year, when asked
what is most stressful about holiday gift-giving, respondents chose “selecting
the right gift.” This year, when asked the same question, respondents’ top
concern is that the number of people on their list is more than they can afford
to buy for.

CHATZKY: “Start by setting a
holiday budget—the total amount you want to spend on gifts. Then divide that number, equally or not,
among the people on your list. Stretch your dollars with coupons, which are
everywhere this year, but also with creativity. Buy a gift for a couple or a
family instead of individuals. Or chip in with one sibling to split the cost on
a gift for another.”

MORGENSTERN: “To organize your
thoughts around spending, come up with criteria for deciding who you give gifts
to and who you don’t. For example, consider giving gifts to the children on
your list, and business associates. For adult family and friends, suggest gifts
which take the form of time together. Host a potluck holiday dinner or knitting
party; conduct music or cooking lessons by you (depending on your talents); a
jaunt to the movies or the local manicure salon with your gal pals. It will
show people that you care, while taking the spending pressure off everyone—and
most folks will appreciate that.”

Do I hear discounts on aisle 5?
SURVEY FINDING: When asked compared to last year, what changes they would
make this year to their holiday spending, 53 percent of survey respondents
intend to spend less on the gifts they buy. Comparing prices/shopping for sales and clipping coupons also ranked
high, at 51 and 44 percent, respectively.

CHATZKY: “You can greatly
reduce your spending merely by shopping around, and there are so many
comparison shopping sites, to help you. When you find the best deal, take the
plunge. Inventories are leaner this year
and you don’t want to miss out on getting what you want by waiting for the
price to drop further. But save your receipts. Many retailers will let you
capture price reductions for up to 14 days after you buy.”

Venus – you’re more stressed than
Mars.

SURVEY FINDING: It’s a fact! As
compared to men, women feel more stressed approaching this holiday season than
they did last year. While the rank order of the top three stressful activities
remained identical between men and women all of the holiday activities noted by
the survey cause women more stress than their male counterparts.

MORGENSTERN: “To the degree
women still tend to feel ultimately responsible for running the household—as
well as the ‘go-to’ by filling in the gaps at work left by downsizing—the
economic crunch has created significant additional time pressure. Making
dollars stretch requires extra hours spent planning out budgets, searching for
bargains, monitoring bank accounts and credit card balances to avoid overdrafts,
cooking instead of takeout, and doing laundry more often. These added time
burdens add stress.”

Holiday crowds make it into the top-three
stressors.

SURVEY FINDING: Possibly an
early indication for Cyber Monday results, “shopping in crowded stores and
malls” ranked among the top three most stressful activities across all age
categories, ethnicities, and income levels.

MORGENSTERN: “Shopping by catalog or
online is a great way to save time, as long as you

don’t overdo the
browsing. Shop two to three favorite
websites that offer a wide selection. For people on your list who live in
another city, simplify mailing by having the site gift wrap and send your gifts
directly to the recipient. To keep track of all your purchases, print out a
record of every order, including delivery dates for online orders, and store in
a file named ‘Gifts Purchased.’”

Jot it down; you’ll feel better.

SURVEY FINDING: With more than
half of the survey’s respondents taking time at least once a week to plan, a
“to-do list” is perceived as the most helpful tool for dealing with stress,
with meditation, and exercise a close second.

MORGENSTERN: “I couldn’t agree
more. A to-do list gets things out of your head and onto paper. You can take it
a step further and transfer to-dos directly onto your calendar. For every
holiday task (i.e., shopping, wrapping gifts, planning meals, etc.), ask
yourself how long it will realistically take, and when you will do it…then
write that task on the specific day in your calendar you intend to do it. No
matter how much is going on, ask yourself what routine activity you find the
most grounding (i.e., exercise, meditation, playing the piano), and be sure to
anchor your days around that. Never give that up, as it will keep you grounded
throughout the holidays.”

Survey Methodology

FranklinCovey
Products surveyed 1,007 male and female consumers, 18-years and older across
the
United States
through a third-party organization during late September 2009. The survey’s resulting sampling error rate is
+/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.